Why Irish Eyes are Smiling

I won't be venturing out this evening...but if you do, and happen to spot a sweet Irish lass like this one...buy her a pint for me!

Dr. Sketchy RVA: A Tribute to Bettie Page

Last night I went downtown to Gallery 5 for the latest installment of our local chapter of Dr. Sketchy. It was the third overall, but the first I'd been to. I wanted to make the last monthly meeting, and it just didn't work out...but the theme for the night, "A Tribute to Bettie Page", just sounded like a can't-miss, and it didn't disappoint.

A word to explain just what Dr. Sketchy is, from their own website:

"Dr. Sketchy's is the little Brooklyn event that became a movement. Founded in 2005 by artist Molly Crabapple, Dr. Sketchy's asked a simple question. Why can't drawing naked people be sexy?

Here's our attempt at an answer

We combed New York to find the most beautiful burlesque dancers, the most bizarre circus freaks, and the most rippling hunks of man. Then, every other Saturday, we let you draw them for three hours. Interspersed with posing are comedy skits and ridiculous drawing contests (best left handed drawing? Best incorporation of a woodland animal?) where you can win booze or prizes."

The model last night, who goes by the stage name of Boo Boo Darlin', was really good. She had Bettie's look nailed, right down to the signature bangs. Having pored over so many of Dave Stevens' fantastic and inspiring Bettie Page drawings recently made it difficult to remember to draw what I was actually seeing and not simply re-interpret the poses through my own cartoonier style...it's a problem I often have when drawing from a live model, in fact, and I don't think I was particularly successful last night. Also, she was standing kind of above those of us drawing, on a table about four feet high, which made the perspective a little tricky.

All I could think of the entire time was how much fun it would've been if my friend Bill, another Rocketeer and Bettie fan, had been able to come along. Still, I had a lot of fun, and had a great time drawing for two-and-a-half hours. I'll definitely be back next month!

Here are a few of my attempts:

Snow Daze

It seems like a long time ago, as I sit here pondering what to do with this 80-degree day, but at this exact time last week, we were getting pounded by a winter storm! Alas, I had to go and ruin it by doing a comic about it. Enjoy!

Blackhawks

Maybe the best jersey in all of sports.

Iggles

Snow Day

Unfortunately, the title of this post in no way relates to the art posted herein...I was way too busy playing in the half-foot of snow we (finally) got in Central Virginia today to do much drawing. But I humbly submit these sketches, done over the weekend.

Sixers Throwback

Drawn to Distraction

New Traffic and Weather up at Richmond magazine today...I even managed to sneak in some nudity this week!

Snow? No.

I don't post reminders every week (maybe I should), but there's a new Traffic and Weather strip up at Richmond Magazine. I post this one mainly to be antagonistic, complaining about the fact that we haven't had any snow here in Virginia all winter!

Sharks

With the way the Penguins have been playing the last couple games, maybe I won't have to defect to the San Jose Sharks after all!

Reddy

Character Assassination: Power Girl

Here's the third installment of a too-infrequent little experiment I have going with my pal Jay Geldhof, where we each do our own rendition of the same character. Actually, I should probably amend that last statement, 'cause the more often we do these, the more often I'll look like a chump, as I do in this case. My drawing is okay, whatever...but his is simply awesome, and blows mine out of the water in every conceivable way. Curses!

Last Chance!

Hey! Today's the last day to order a sticker and be entered to win a Big Ben action figure! Trust me...at this point, your odds are pretty good!

Buckle

A Promise

I swear I'm going to stop talking about football very soon!

Stillerette Sticker!

They're here! Get your Steelerette sticker now with the handy PayPal button below! I gotta say, they came out great...I'm really happy with the job the printer did.

They're a measly two bucks each, and measure just over five inches tall. I'll have them out to you in time to celebrate next week!



As an extra bonus, everyone who orders a sticker (or anything else from the store) between today and next Friday (2/6) will be entered in a drawing to win one of two Big Ben Roethlisberger MacFarlane figures I have on hand! It's kind of an embarrassing story...I went a little nuts last time the Steelers were in the Super Bowl, and bought a half dozen of 'em as an "investment".



Thanks everybody! And GO STEELERS!

Black Canary

A commission from awhile back:

Retrosexuals

I was really happy with how this illo for the Boston Phoenix turned out...from the minute Kristen ( the PHX's fine art director) described it to me over the phone, I knew it had major potential.

It examines the phenomena of people reconnecting via sites like Facebook and hooking up after not seeing each other for a decade or more. And the term they use to describe the practitioners of this trend—retrosexuals—is downright hilarious!

Blue Girls

So Long, Shithead

I was tempted, especially on the night before Barack Obama's historic inauguration, to let bygones be bygones and skip posting this image altogether. It was done back in December for the Boston Phoenix, to accompany a story detailing the myriad reasons why the planet will be better off once Bush is out of power. Some of the reasons seem...I dunno, a little spurious...like maybe the research has been exaggerated a bit to fit the premise. Maybe not...hell, I'm not a scientist. But several other articles, editorials, etc, that I've read over the last few days made me realize why it's a drawing worth putting up on the blog.

The Bush presidency has been a complete disaster, and while I'm far from naive enough to think the new boss will come in and wave a magic wand and wipe all our problems away, it sure feels good to know that there's someone thoughtful, intelligent and yeah, inspiring at the helm.

I'm a fairly forgiving sort by nature, so it's tempting to think that since the Bush years are over, let's let bygones be bygones and move on. But then you take a look back over the last eight years and remember the inane blunders and horrible decisions, the strident, divisive "If you don't agree with me then you're not a true American" attitude...and it's really pretty unforgivable.

High School Musical 2

This illustration ran in last week's edition of the Boston Phoenix, in which a couple grizzled, cynical critics take in the stage production of High School Musical 2. Get in touch with your inner tween!

New Traffic and Weather

Another trip to the grocery store! My exciting life...

Miro Satan

I had intended for this illustration to be a much bigger deal...when the Penguins signed Miroslav Satan (pronounced she-TAN) over the summer, I was instantly enthralled with the possibilities. It seemed perfect...I love to draw devil girls and hockey jerseys, and then my favorite team goes and gets a guy named SATAN? I started this drawing right away!

Unfortunately, I waited a bit to long to finish it. After a decent start, ol' Miro has kinda gone in the tank, along with the rest of the Penguins, who have lost seven of their last eight games...most of those games having been played against crappy teams. So, my plans for a spectacular, Mellon-Arena-on-fire background have been shelved indefinitely. Still, it's a fun image. Enjoy!

Hooked Up

Huyk hyuk hyuk...

Playoffs? PLAYOFFS?!

Not much of a post today, as I'm trying to wrap up some freelance stuff before going over to John's house to watch the Pittsburgh/San Diego playoff game with a bunch of friends...among them my pal Brian, who I let tag along with me to Heinz Field back in November, despite the fact he's a Chargers fan.

Go Steelers.

Ginger Classic

Late posting today, due to my sitting on my ass all afternoon recovering from the Ginger Classic, an inline Iron-man hockey tournament organized by carrot-topped super-hero Chase Vaughn. My wife actually came out to the rink to spectate and brought the camera, but unfortunately, the only action shots she got of me were when I was trying to stop Evie from stealing someone's gatorade. Thankfully, Chase's pal Matt snapped some shots as well.






EDIT: Goalie Patrick Snyder's wife was also taking photos, and got me in an actual action (as in, I'm moving) shot! Srsly, the best part of my game is the Whalers jersey.

Power Girl

Hope I have time to ink and color this someday soon.

Wrigley's Believe It or Not

Hope you've been keeping up with my Traffic and Weather strip over at Richmond Magazine dot Com. This week: The NHL Winter Classic!

Cabbage Patch Frenzy

Karate Kids

I got an assignment last year from University of Virginia Magazine about martial arts clubs on campus. It was fairly straightforward, just talking about the different options available to students and the good physical and mental health benefits that go along with participation...in other words, nothing negative for me to focus on! So, I took a different approach, looked at a ton of books about martial arts, and created all these small figures of people practicing the various disciplines, whcih were in turn spaced throughout the layout. Now, being that I don't know Aikido from Feng Shui, I'm sure I'm far less than accurate on a few of these poses...so if you see something I have wrong, and want to leave a comment about it, please don't bother, because I DON'T CARE.

Journalist

Strange and Stranger

One of my absolute best and favorite clients is The Stranger...they give me all kinds of kooky things to draw!